The battle over the remaining Civil War-era cottages on South Dubuque Street is shaping up to be fought at the courthouse just as much as at City Hall.

A lawyer representing the tenants of the two cottages left standing — one was demolished late Christmas night or early the next morning — has filed a series of court petitions in an attempt to block the landowner from evicting them and razing the remaining buildings.

In the latest move, attorney Rockne Cole filed a motion Friday in Johnson County District Court to intervene on behalf of the two tenants, small business owners Will Ingles and Susan Hultman, that would allow them to participate in a municipal infraction hearing against their landlord, Ted Pacha.

Pacha faces three citations by the city for maintaining dangerous buildings in violation of city code, and a court hearing had been set for Jan. 8. With Cole's clients intervening, however, the hearing has been moved to 1 p.m. Feb. 5.

Before that, however, the court will weigh a motion for a temporary injunction filed by the tenants to prevent Pacha from demolishing the two remaining cottages at 608 and 610 S. Dubuque St., which house Ingles' bookstore and Hultman's antique business, respectively. A hearing for the injunction motion is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 7.

In addition, a civil lawsuit filed by Cole and his clients Dec. 22 alleges that Pacha breached his contract with Ingles and Hultman, and seeks the court to force Pacha to repair the cottages rather than demolish them.

"It's been enormously stressful for both Will and Susan to live under this constant state of anxiety," Cole said Wednesday. "We can't get answers, and they both have valid tenancies."

Cole said while it is unusual for a third party to intervene in a municipal infraction case, it was necessary to allow the tenants to present their own evidence. Pacha has hired an engineering firm that deemed the structures unsound, while opponents commissioned a second study that found them to be "structurally sound."

"The concern would be if we don't participate in the municipal infractions, essentially we could find ourselves with an unwarranted demolition without the opportunity to be heard," Cole said.

A message left Wednesday with Pacha seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Pacha had been working with a local developer, Hodge Construction, which submitted redevelopment plans to the city for the block on which the cottages are located. Concept plans showed a four-story, mixed-use building spanning the block, but Hodge withdrew a rezoning request for the project in November amid the debate over the historic significance of the cottages.

The nearly 150-year-old cottages are some of the oldest buildings in the city. Historic preservationists have argued that they're important vestiges of the railroad district that grew around the old depot in the 1800s. Today the properties stand in what has been dubbed the Riverfront Crossings District — an area south of Burlington Street where the city hopes to encourage major redevelopment.

Iowa City's Historic Preservation commission voted unanimously at its Dec. 11 meeting that the cottages are historically significant, and to recommend overlay rezoning to the Iowa City Council. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted at its Dec. 18 meeting to make the same recommendation.

The Iowa City Council will consider the recommendations made by both commissions and the State Historic Preservation Office at its Jan. 6 meeting and vote whether to hold a public hearing for the cottages. If the council votes to hold the hearing, a 60-day moratorium will be instated to prevent demolition of 608 and 610 S. Dubuque St., provided significant progress has not been made on their demolition.

Hultman contends in the lawsuit that she has a valid lease through July 2015. Ingles, who also lives in the cottage he has leased since 1986, contends that he had a right to occupy the premises through the end of December.

The owner of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu Studio, which was located at 614 S. Dubuque St. for 21 years, vacated the cottage several weeks ago before it was razed overnight Dec. 25 or early Dec. 26.